Arched building structures and elements for same



Sept. 6, 1955 T. COLLINS 2,717,060

ARCHED BUILDING STRUCTURES AND ELEMENTS FOR SAME Filed April 6, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 25 25 INVENTOR TAPPAN coLLlNs l ATTORNE United States Patent() ARCHED lBUILDING STRUCTURES AND ELEMENTS FOR SAME .Tappan Collins, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., assignor .to National Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application April 6, 1951, Serial No. 219,711

`8 Claims. ((21.189-1) The present invention .relates to .improvements in arched rib'buildings and .to a novel telescoping arrangement connecting together the adjacent ends of arched rib members in such buildings and to improved arched ri-b members having one or both ends constructed to form a telescoping connection with a similar member.

In arched rib structures which may, forexample, be substantially semicircular in .cross section, Vthe .structure includes a skeleton framework of arched ribs which -ex- Atend .across from side to side .of .the building connected together by longitudinally extending purlins spaced about the periphery of the ribs. A covering may be attached to the purlins. The ribs are the `main supporting .members so that the strength of the framework and the building is dependent upon the .strength of theribs. It iscustomary to fabricate the variousparts for archedrib structures and then assemble the parts in packages at thepoint of fabrication. These packages are shipped to the point of erec tion. The parts are arranged in the packagesin .such a manner that a set of packages will contain allof the parts `for a building. These buildings are often thirty or forty feet-wide which means that the ribs mustextend through the arc having a diameter equal to thirty tor forty feet. Obviously such a member is too bulky to be .transported readily. Particularly when it is necessary to transport the parts a long distance or to a foreign country, it has been the general practice to make such arched ribs with an I-shape in cross section and `to make the rib in about three parts. These partsare assembled in the kfield .by arranging the segments on the ground and connecting .the adjacent end of the segments together by meansofsplice plates bolted in place. The assembled rib-isfthen swung up into position and fastened in place by means of the purlins. The plates or splice members-extendpart -way along the ends of both segments and there yis a tendency for such connections to constitute a zone of weakness .which is a serious drawback in that the ribsare the main supporting members. Another important drawback `is that the use of splice members increases the number of parts which in turn increases the chances of 'the parts being lost and not available at the site offerection. -In theory, the assembling of the prefabricated parts into packages in such a manner that a set of packages-,provides all the parts for a building should assurethat .all partsare available at the-site of erection. It has been foundin practice that the more parts required, the greater the chances are that some of the parts will be missing. :lt happens all too frequently that when a crew :starts to erect .abuilding 99% of the parts will'be available but that the building cannot be erected as a few parts are missing. This causes excessive erection delay, particularly where the site of erection is-a great distance from the fabrication plant, as is usually the case when arched ribbed members are erected.

It is an object of the present'invention to provide-an improved arched rib building structureincluding aplurlity ofy elongated arched rib members having their adjacent ICC 2 ends connected together in .a novel telescopng arragef ment. y

It is an object of the present .invention .top-rovideian improved structure including an ,arched bjnade up of arched segments arranged. end to .end .wit'hthe .adjacent ends connected together yin a .novel telescoping arrangement'. i

lt is .an object of tthe present .invention -toprovide .an improved arched structural member .that can jbef. readily assembled with .one .ormore similar members inend to end relationship without the .use ofzseparate splice plates to form an archedrib fora building structure. v

It is an object of Vthe' .present invention to provide .an improved arched .structural .member .having-v one or .both end rportions modified .to tit tinto .the end of a similar member -that is .the Ysame as the major ,portionof `the rst mentioned member solthattwoormor'e memberscan he readily connectedv Itogether in end to end relationship without the .use .ofseparate .splice members and lWithout modifying the membersexcept for one of'theendvportions at-each .telescoping connection.

In accordance -with Atheppresent;invention, the arched members .or segments Lare .channel `shape in across-:section The .cross.sectional shape may be a iU-.shape for :ahat shape. These vsegments are connected.together-intaligned .endtogend relationship with oneendportionof one seg ment ittinglinto an adjacent end portion tof the ,adjacent segment. Thus, when the segments yare assembled-in':the -field '.to for-m an :arched rib, zthe fsegmentsw can vbe treadily fitted together without vthe use'of additional splcefplates, .channels or otherfextra'members. `Thejoint-.betweentlie segmentsV is as strongtor stronger .than the-.segments'f themselves and there are not fthe'additional -sp'lice members `which can be readily lost. The `time required rfor'tas- .sembly and erectionfis'reduce'd .and the resulting product isstronger, less cumberso'rnezand'better than those'here- ,tofore utilized.

These and .f other ,objects .and :advantages f of zpresent .invention'willbecome readily apparent from'the following description, ytaken 'with the accompanying drawings,- Lin which:

.Figure lris a cabinet view 'of.an .arched frib vfbu'ihling structure .embodyingthe principles .of the fpresent` invenition, :portions :of :thef-.covering .have fbeenfremovedlto illustrate the construction;

Figure 2.is aside :view in 'elevation lof an--archedrib .ofthe building fof iFigure l;

tFigures f3 and 4' are :enlarged sectional views taken .falonglines 3 3 and 4-'.4,frespecti.vely,rof 'Figure-2; and,

ifFigure 5 is an enlarged lfragmentary, lcabinet View of a telescoping joint'rbetween arched `rib'im'e'nibers "talked-:as .indicated by -line fS-S on' `Figurey 2.

Referringto the drawings, and particularlytolFiguet-l, vthe :elongated arched rib building structure includesy a plurality .ofsimilar, parallel arched ribs '1'0 spaced apart .tend ftran'sversely 'of 'the building with thel opposite ends of fthe -ribs supportedv on the gfoundation piersf'pll' and t12, at :opposite sidesy of 'thebuilding 'IY-he arched ribs are Vconnected together bylongitudinallyextendingl purlins '14. As-fshown; Ieachpurlin 114 Aextends across part-*of the .ribs with the adjacent tends of-Lth'efpurlinstlin overlapping relationship. Eachgpurlin-'1`4 Lis connected by screws `or othermeans /.to each rib I10 across which the tpurlin member extends .and -:preferably feach lpurlin member; is connected to-.eachange ofzeach rib. E'Ihe `purlin-:members like .the .ribs are .formed .of metal and :prefer-ably are f the type adapted .to ,present .grooves yfor Areceiving nailsfor fastening the outer coveringin place. The .outer covering may be zfor example, .corrugated `metal sheets v19, apart of'whih is shown sin Figure l. ,The purlinmember may be ofthe' type shown in'Figu 'l and 3 described in the specication of my copending application, Serial No. 142,171, tiled February 3, 1950, now Patent No. 2,685,354, dated August 3, 1954.

The transversely extending ribs and the longitudinally extending purlins 14 together constitute the skeleton framework which supports the collateral material, such as the outer covering and the inner covering, if any. The ribs are the main load supporting members with the purlins serving as bracing for the ribs so that the load supporting capacity of the building is dependent upon the strength and rigidity of the skeleton framework, particularly the strength and rigidity of the ribs 10. The building structure shown in Figure l is of the type shown and described in my copending application, Serial No. 219,712 led April 6, 1951.

The ribs 10 are identical and only one rib will be described in detail. As shown more clearly in Figure 2, the arched rib extends through an arc of about 180 and may comprise three segments or members 21, 22 and 23, each extending through an arc of about 60. These ribs are usually made having a diameter of, for example, 20, 30 or 40 feet, depending upon the width of the building. As shown, the segments of the rib are substantially of equal length but need not be. While the rib 10 and the segments or arched rib members making up the rib are shown as being uniformly curved about a single axis, the rib and the segments may be nonuniformly curved with the different members curved about diterent axes. The term arched as applied to the rib and rib members is intended to include both uniformly and nonuniformly curved members, unless otherwise stated. In addition, the members 21, 22 and 23 may be of equal length, as shown, or may have different lengths and diierent radii of curvature. For example, if the radius of curvature of members 21 and 23 is 20 feet, the radius of curvature of the center segment 22 may be 15 feet, or vice versa.

As shown more clearly in Figure 3, the arched rib 10 and each of the arched rib members 21, 22 and 23 is formed of sheet metal having in cross section a hat shape. The arched rib member includes an inner web portion facing inwardly toward the center of curva? ture and a pair of spaced apart side web portions 26 and 27, each integrally joined along an inner edge to a respective edge of the inner web portion 2S. The side web portions extend outwardly from the inner web portion and the side web portion 26 terminates in a laterally, outwardly extending ange 29 having an outer free edge. Similarly, the side wall portion 27 terminates in a laterally outwardly extending flange having an outer free edge. The anges 29 and 30 are coplanar and are located in a plane parallel with the plane of the inner web portion. Each of the arched rib members has a cross sectional shape as shown in Figure 3 except for the one end portion of each of members 21 and 23 which is in telescoping arrangement with an end portion of the adjacent member 22. Member 22 has throughout its length the cross sectional shape shown in Figure 3.

lil

As shown more clearly in Figures 2, 4 and 5, the adjacent ends of the rib members are in telescoping arrange,-

ment. The upper end of member 23 has a rib 38 formed in the inner web portion 25. The rib 38 is formed of metal displaced laterally outwardly from the inner web portion 25 and the rib 38 is of such a size that when the rib is formed, the respective side web portions 26 and 27 are moved inwardly toward each other a distance equal to twice the thickness of the metal or equal to the total thickness of the side web portions 26 and 27. This distance should be as nearly twice the thickness of the metal as is consistent with good manufacturing processes. When the rib 38 is formed, the side web portions and the anges should be held so that when the rib end of the member 23 is placed inside of the' end of rib member 22, the side web portions and tianges of the respective members will engage each` other snugly in parallel nesting or telescoping relationship as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The major portion of the arched rib member 23 has the cross sectional shape shown in Figure 3 except for that relatively minor portion at the end which is modified as shown in Figure 5.

The upper end portion of arched rib member 21 is similarly modified for telescoping arrangement Within the adjacent end portion of segment 22. With this arrangement the members 21 and 23 are identical with the end portions of segment 22 not being modiled. The member 22 may be longer or shorter than the other two members without deleteriously affecting the telescoping arrangement. For example, the member 22 may be curved about a radius of l5 feet and the members 21 and 23 may be curved about a radius of 20 feet with each member extending through an angle of about As shown, each member extends through an arc of about 60 plus half the length of each joint it makes with the other members. If desired, the arched rib members may be formed so that it is the opposite ends of member 22 which are modified with a rib 38 to telescope inside of the upper ends of members 21 and 23.

The telescoping ends are preferably connected together by bolts 40 and nuts 41. Preferably, there is provided a pair of bolts 40 on each side of the telescoping connection as shown in Figure 5, making a total of four bolts at each connection. With this telescoping arrangement, the joint is as strong or stronger than the remainder of the rib so that the strength and rigidity of the rib 10 depend on the properties of the major portion of the rib member that are between the telescoping connections.

As discussed in my copending application Serial No. 219,712 led April 6, 1951, entitled Arched Rib Members and Buildings Including Same, the arched ribs preferably have in cross section a hat shape as shown and described. In this copending application, it is pointed out that the ilanges 29 and 30 may terminate in downwardly turned lips having a depth up to twelve times the thickness of the metal. In order for the ends to telescope, the upper telescoping anges must be flat, and this can be achieved by flattening the flanges 29 and 3ft of the upper end portion of member 23 which ts inside of the end of member 22. The laterally outwardly extending tree anges 30 and 29 are preferred as they greatly increase the lateral stability of the ribs and present a number of advantages. insofar as the present invention is concerned, the ribs may be channel shaped in cross section without the laterally outwardly extending flanges 29 and Sil.

With the telescoping arrangement, the arched rib meinbers may be quickly and accurately assembled to form an arched rib. It is not necessary to assemble the rib members in end to end relationship and then in addition fasten in place splice plates or splice channels as has been the practice heretofore. The number of parts is reduced by having the ends of the channel shaped arched rib members in telescoping relationship and maximum strength with the greatest ease of assembly is obtained with the present construction.

I claim:

'1. An elongated arched rib member of sheet metal having in cross section a single channel shape including an inner web and a pair of side web portions extending outwardly from the two lateral edges of the inner web portion, the side web portions being equally spaced apart by the inner web throughout a major portion of the length of the member with the inner web of said major portion being at and the inner web in at least one end portion of the member including a rib of inner web metal displaced outwardly a distance such that the side web portions of said one end portion are more closely spaced apart than the side web portions in said major portion by a distance equal to twice the thickness of the sheet metal, each side web portion in said one end portion being parallel with the respective side web portion in said major portion whereby the said one end portion will telescope inside of an end portion of another arched rib member that is the same cross sectional size as said major portion with the telescoping side web portions of the two members in snugly itting parallel relationship with each other.

2. The elongated arched rib member claimed in claim 1 in which the inner web in only one end portion of the member includes the rib whereby only said one end portion will telescope with another member.

3. The elongated arched rib member claimed in claim l in which the inner web in each opposite end portion includes the rib whereby each end portion will telescope with another member.

4. The elongated arched rib member claimed in claim l in which the side web portions terminate in coplanar, laterally, outwardly extending anges having free outer edges.

5. An elongated building structure including arched ribs laterally spaced apart along the length of the building structure and extending transversely of the building structure, each arched rib including at least two arched rib members formed of sheet metal having adjacent end portions connected together in telescoping relationship, each of the two members including an inner web and a pair of side web portions extending outwardly from the two lateral edges of the inner web, the side web portions throughout at least a major portion of the length of each member being equally spaced apart by the respective inner webs which are at, one telescoping end portion of one member having the same cross sectional shape as the major portion and the inner web of the other adjacent end portion of the other member including a rib of inner web metal displaced outwardly a distance such that the side web portions of said other end portion are more closely spaced apart than the side web portions in the major portion by a distance equal to twice the thickness of the sheet metal and said other end portion snugly telescoping in said one portion with the telescoping side web portions of the two members in snugly fitting parallel relationship.

6. The building structure claimed in claim 5 in which said one member has the same cross sectional shape throughout its length and the said other member has the same cross sectional shape except in said other adjacent end portion.

7. The building structure claimed in claim 5 in which the arched rib members have in cross section a hat shape with each side web portion terminating in a laterally outwardly extending, free edge flange.

8. An elongated building structure including a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart, transversely extending arched ribs, each rib including a pair of outer arched rib members and an intermediate arched rib member, the pair of outer members each having an end portion telescoping inside of an adjacent end portion of the intermediate members, each member being formed of sheet metal and having in cross section a hat shape including an inner web and spaced side webs extending outwardly and terminating in coplanar laterally outwardly extending anges, the inner web throughout the length of the intermediate member and the inner web throughout the length of each outer member except for the telescoping end portion being flat and equally spacing apart the respective side web portions, the inner web in the telescoping end portion of each outer member including a rib of outwardly displaced inner web metal of such size that the respective side web portions are more closely spaced apart than the side web portions joined by the at inner web by a distance equal to twice the thickness of the metal, and thetelescoping end portion of each outer member itting inside the adjacent end portion of the intermediate member with the telescoping side web portions and tianges in snugly fitting parallel relationship.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,999,500 Carswell et al. Apr. 30, 1935 2,118,191 Goldsmith May 24, 1938 2,185,916 Groetschel et al. Jan. 2, 1940 2,328,197 Cowin Aug. 31, 1943 2,549,816 Johnson Apr. 24, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 377,235 Great Britain July 22, 1932 

